


Out of Place

by inkwells_writing



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Cardverse, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkwells_writing/pseuds/inkwells_writing
Summary: The King of Spades is perfect- with only a single hair out of place. Arthur is having trouble stopping himself from brushing it away from his face.





	1. Arthur's pov

Arthur was Queen. He’d had his coronation, he’d ran this damned kingdom for a long time.

Alfred was King. He’d had his coronation, he’d learned about what his job as king would entail and tried his best.

It’d been a year- it was time for the two of them to be wed.

But an issue arose quickly enough. Arranged marriages were not what Arthur wanted. Sure, growing up as a nobleman meant he knew it’d happen eventually. But he was the youngest of five, so he’d assumed he would have some leeway and could at least find someone he liked and who returned the sentiment.

Not to say he didn’t like Alfred, far from it. No one in the kingdom _didn’t_ like Alfred. No, the issue was quite the opposite. Arthur was quite sure Alfred didn’t return his feelings. Why would he? He was kind to Arthur, when they weren’t arguing, so Arthur assumed the man simply tolerated him and simply wished to make the best out of a bad situation.

It wasn’t like they had a choice. The Sort chose them as King and Queen of Spades. They didn’t _have_ to love each other.

But when the king was so handsome and charismatic and _strong_ , well, it was hard not to fall in love.

However, Arthur was a steadfast man. He wouldn’t ruin his life confessing his feelings or kissing a man who certainly did not like him.

The gods were testing him that night, though.

It was an engagement party, for the wedding that was to take place in a week. Arthur had his best suit on, and Alfred, oh, Alfred was dressed to the nines.

The man was wearing the most form-fitting suit, with a cloak and boots and vests upon vests that only accentuated everything wonderful about the man. That, Arthur could deal with. Alfred dressed nicely often, when meeting with foreign dignitaries and the like.

No, what was killing Arthur today was the man’s hair. It had been slicked back, his elegant crown resting atop. All night a single strand of hair had been resting next to his eye, begging for Arthur to casually reach back and tuck it behind his ear where it belonged.

Yes, Arthur was going insane staring at it. Multiple times he had been caught staring as he flicked his eyes down to Alfreds, looking away in quick embarrassment to find blue eyes staring back at him.

It would be simple to reach out and fix the man’s hair- he only wanted his king to look neat and proper, of course! No other reason, Arthur simply couldn’t have his king look messy.

But he didn’t act on impulse. Nothing would happen because Arthur had self-control. He didn’t want to make things awkward, not this close to the wedding.

So Arthur sat by his king at dinner, danced the required dances with him, made uncomfortable small talk with him and other guests, and smiled politely when it was appropriate of him.

He just couldn’t stop staring.

Eventually, the party came to an end. The guests began to leave with quick and polite words of goodbye. Arthur and Alfred stood there and accepted the gifts and parting handshakes, accepted their well-wishes and returned with their own.

Then, when the room was empty save for him and Alfred, he sighed, finally allowing himself to relax. Turning on his heel without another look at Alfred, he began to make his way up the stairs to the Queen’s Chambers. He knew if he stayed around Alfred much longer, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from doing something impulsive.

Arthur heard Alfred follow after him, as the stairs came to a hall that split, the left leading to Alfred’s chambers and the right leading to Arthur’s.

He thought nothing of the man’s quick steps until he heard Alfred call out, “Arthur, wait up!”

Pausing, Arthur began to worry. What if Alfred had noticed his staring and was going to yell at him? What if Alfred knew he liked him? What if Alfred was going to-

Forcing a polite smile on his face, Arthur turned to look down at Alfred. It was weird to be taller than the man, but he was higher on the stairs.

“Arthur, I just,” Alfred cut himself off as he blushed and looked at the wall

Arthur let his smile fall as his brows furrowed, “Is something wrong, My King?”

He watched as Alfred glowered, no longer blushing, “I’ve told you not to call me that.”

“You’re a higher rank than me, and we are yet to be married. It’s only proper.” Arthur spoke bluntly. Alfred had tried to get him to use his name, but something about it felt too personal. It would cross a line Arthur wasn’t ready to cross without leaping head-first over it.

“Whatever.” Alfred huffed, then paused.

“What was it you needed?” Arthur pressed, wanting to get the conversation over with. The strand of hair had fallen father down, now it rested in front of Alfred’s beautiful blue eyes. The man didn’t brush it aside, but certainly he must have noticed it.

Alfred groaned and joined Arthur on the step, causing him to step backwards in surprise. Arthur was now pressed against the wall, trying desperately not to do something reckless while also maintaining an air of nonchalance. Now on an equal level, Alfred was taller, causing Arthur to tilt up to continue making eye contact. Alfred, seemingly frustrated, reached out a hand.

Even if he wanted to, Arthur couldn’t stop himself from flinching as the hand neared his face. Alfred froze immediately before yanking his hand backwards, “Shit, sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just- well, all night- your hair.” Alfred rubbed his face with both hands as he stumbled over his words, “I just, you’ve had this annoying as hell, but also cute as hell, strand of hair that's out of place and I’ve been staring at it all night and I know you’ve noticed and-”

Arthur let his king ramble. He listened, wide-eyed, as Alfred droned on about the exact same problem he’d been having all night.

Instead of speaking up telling Alfred it was fine, Arthur acted impulsively. He reached his hand out, fingers brushing Alfred’s cheek as he moved them up and tucked that golden strand behind Alfred’ ear.

Alfred had stopped speaking and was now giving him an intense look. Jaw set, Alfred reached forwards a second time and brushed Arthur’s face. Arthur hadn’t even noticed he had a hair out of place.

They looked at one another, silently, not speaking but saying so much, until at once they both pressed towards each other, hands finding the other’s coats and necks and mouths slammed together. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but it was a long time coming.

They stayed like that until Arthur pulled away, panting. His arms were locked around Alfred’s neck, one hand petting at the man’s hair as he laughed incredulously.

Alfred blinked, obviously dazed, until his eyes cleared and he glared down at Arthur’s mouth.

Leaning forward, Alfred bit Arthur lip as he groaned, “I’ve been wanting to do this since I first saw you on that throne.” The man began to walk backwards up the stairs, his hands pulling insistently on Arthur’s coat and back, forcing Arthur to stumble up after him.

Arthur allowed himself to be led for a second, before he yanked Alfred down- back onto his mouth.


	2. Alfred's pov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Queen of Spades is perfect- with only a single hair out of place. Alfred is having trouble stopping himself from brushing it away from his face.

Alfred was King. He’d had his coronation, he’d learned about what his job as king would entail and tried his best. 

Arthur was Queen. He’d had his coronation, he’d ran this damned kingdom for a long time. 

It’d been a year- it was time for the two of them to be wed.

Alfred couldn’t be happier with the entire situation. He was getting married to a wonderful man, and while he was pretty sure Arthur only tolerated being around him, he was fine with that.

Kinda. 

It was all a part of his plan to win over Arthur’s affections. Eventually. It would take time and patience, and as the King of Spades, he had one of those down. He would learn patience in the process of wooing Arthur, hopefully. 

He was already on Step Three, which was being well dressed and well behaved at the engagement party. 

But fuck man, Step Three sucked. Patience sucked.

It was so hard to not lean in and fix Arthur’s adorably ruffled hair and kiss him. He’d have to personally thank their stylists later, because  _ Sorts _ , Arthur looked so good. It was going to drive Alfred crazy, but he’d be patient. He was good at that (he hoped). 

He wasn’t so good at stopping himself from staring at his beautiful soon-to-be husband, if the glances Arthur kept shooting him meant anything. It was clearly annoying Arthur how he kept staring and that would set back his plans to woo the man, but he couldn’t help it. He’d always liked how soft Arthur’s hair looked, and with it gelled back the way it was, he wanted to fix the little strand that brushed infront of his face. 

Alfred was going crazy. 

Focusing on the guests and court officials who were trying to talk to him was so hard. They just weren’t as important as Arthur and his little strands of hair. 

He wasn’t going to make it. He was going to do something and mess up his plan. Maybe it’d be worth it, though. 

Yeah! Maybe it’d speed his plan along. After all, Alfred was a master at not following plans, so maybe this was how things were supposed to go down. Now, he wasn’t impatient enough to ignore Arthur’s proper sensibilities. He wouldn’t do something to embarrass his Queen (or himself, if things went really, really wrong) in front of everyone. So he was going to wait for the room to clear and to be alone with Arthur.

But then Arthur had to turn and run the moment they were alone.

Had he gotten creeped out by Alfred’s staring? Did he know how Alfred felt and hated him for it? Was he just tired and wanted to rest up after socializing with near-strangers all day?

Hoping it wasn’t something he did that made Arthur leave so quickly, he hurried after the man. Hopping up the stairs that led to their separate rooms, Alfred called out a quick, “Arthur! Wait up!”

Alfred’s heart may or may not have fluttered when the man turned around on the steps to look at him. “Arthur, I just,” Wait- how the Sorts was he supposed to explain that he wanted to fix Arthur’s hair? Especially now, when they were alone and it didn’t matter anymore.

As Alfred stood there, trying to figure out his words, Arthur’s polite smile fell. “Is something wrong, My King?”

Well, that was something he knew how to answer, “I’ve told you not to call me that.” It was too impersonal. When he said it, Arthur felt distant. Simply put, Alfred hated hearing it. (Plus Arthur’s voice sounded really nice when he said his name.)

Arthur’s shoulders shifted, pulling him into the pompous stance he always used. It warned Alfred that Arthur was going to say something about propriety and the like. 

He zoned out as Arthur did exactly that, only huffing out a “Whatever” as Arthur reaffirmed that he wouldn’t use Alfred’s name. 

There was a slight pause, one he used to simply relax and enjoy being close to Arthur, but then Arthur broke the silence. “What was it you needed?”

Suddenly, he knew his face had flushed a bright red. With a slight groan as he decided  _ fuck it _ , Alfred stepped up to Arthur’s level and got possibly a little too close for Arthur’s comfort. Alfred didn’t care, if Arthur was truly bothered he would have said something. Instead of using his words, Alfred decided to act. It's what he was best at.

So, he reached a hand up to Arthur’s face with the intent to brush aside that damned piece of hair, but he froze when he saw Arthur close his eyes and shift backwards. Cursing himself for probably fucking up any chance at Arthur not hating him, he pulled away while apologizing. “Shit, sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just-” How to explain? “Well, all night-” Bad start- “Your hair?” Sorts, he was awful with words. Taking a deep breath and rubbing his eyes, smudging his glasses as he brushed them, he sighed. He’d just be honest. Not like things could get more uncomfortable, right? “I just, you’ve had this annoying as hell, but also cute as hell, strand of hair that’s out of place and I’ve been staring at it all night and I know you’ve noticed and-” Oh shit Arthur was reaching up- was he going to hit Alfred? Would Arthur do that-

Oh. 

He almost laughed. 

He’d been so focused on Arthur he hadn’t even noticed he had hair in front of his own face. 

But he didn’t laugh. Instead, he steeled himself. Maybe, just maybe, Arthur hadn’t caught him staring all those times. Maybe Arthur was staring at  _ him. _ So, slowly, he reached up a hand to fix the soft strand of hair that brushed Arthur’s face. 

Piercing green eyes watched him, the man’s face tinged with red. Something clicked in both of them, and together, they moved forwards. Pressing together, they kissed. Arms grasping at coats, hands pulling at hair- it was messy and it was a little gross, but  _ fuck _ if it wasn’t amazing.

Alfred almost let out a whine as Arthur pulled away. No part of him wanted to stop, not when Arthur was petting his hair and laughing like that. 

Arthur was so beautiful. 

So, he told Arthur how he felt in the easiest way he knew how without  _ actually _ getting all gross and sappy, “I’ve been wanting to do this since I first saw you on that throne,” He mumbled against his lips, hands finding purchase in Arthur’s coat as he led him up the stairs. 

Yeah, plans were stupid. Acting impulsively worked out, apparently. Being able to finally kiss Arthur like that was so worth it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!!! kudos anc comments are greatly apprecieated!!! if u liked this and want to request or see updates from me, follow my tumblr @inkwells-writing !

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, please leave a comment if you enjoyed it!!!  
> you can request stuff and see updates from me on my tumblr @inkwells-writing


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